A NEW ultrasound which allows patients to be tested for feared problems with their airways in Colchester instead of Basildon or London has been unveiled.

The £132,000 endobronchial ultrasound, or Ebus, can help detect tuberculosis, lung cancer and inflammatory diseases which affect the lungs.

The first patient to benefit was grandfather Ian Leggett, of Thorpe-le-Soken, who was referred to Colchester General Hospital by his GP.

Previously, he would have had to travel to Basildon Hospital, Papworth Hospital in Cambridgeshire or the Royal Brompton Hospital in London.

The procedure, which lasts up to an hour, involves a thin tube called a bronchoscope being passed through the mouth and throat into the windpipe and then to the airways.

It is attached to an ultrasound probe which provides pictures of the lungs and lymph glands. The doctor can also use a fine needle to take a tissue sample from the relevant area.

The patient is given a local anaesthetic and a sedative and remains awake, while sleepy.

Mr Leggett, who chose Colchester because he did not want to travel far, was treated in Elmstead Day Unit by a team led by consultant chest physicial Dr Atul Gulati.

He said the procedure was explained to him and he was well treated by calm and reassuring staff.

Dr Samantha Cooper, consultant in respiratory medicine, said the ultrasound would test around 80 patients a year.

She said: “In recent years, most patients from north east Essex needing EBUS have travelled to Basildon Hospital.

“This is not the easiest place to get to, particularly if you’re travelling in from the Tendring peninsula, and if you’re first on the list, you need to be there by 7.30am and because you shouldn’t drive for 24 hours afterwards, someone has to drive you there and back, which is highly inconvenient for patients.”